The Fresh Loaf

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No Oven Challenge Bake - 123 Sourdough 5 Grain

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

No Oven Challenge Bake - 123 Sourdough 5 Grain

The 123 SD recipe is one of the very best ones and by far the easiest to remember.  It seemed the perfect recipe for Job’s Challenge Bake where the baking process in the temporary, brick WFO would be a bit complex and way more complicated than using the electric Big Old Betsy that bakes our usual loaves.

This bread was 20% whole 5 grain that made up of equal parts of red and white wheat, rye, spelt and Kamut for the whole grains and Lafama AP for the rest of the dough flour.  The NMNF levain was a 2 stage bran one with the bran being the first stage and the high extraction 5 grain the 2nd stage.

The levain totaled 10% pre-fermented flour and it was retarded for 24 hours after it doubled at the 8 hour mark on the heating pad.  The dough flour was autolyzed for 1 hour with the PHSS salt sprinkled on top as the levain warmed up on the counter.  We stirred the levain down when it came out of the fridge and it managed to rise 25% before it hit the autolyse.

We did 50 slap and folds to get the autolyze and salt mixed in and then did 2 more sets of 4 slap and folds and 3 sets of 4 stretch and folds – all on 30 minute intervals to develop the gluten.  We then pre-shaped it and final shaped it into a boule and placed it seam side down into a rice floured basket.   We bagged it and placed it in the fridge for a 36 hour retard.

When the dough came out of the fridge this morning, we fired up the temporary WFO with the Combo cooker inside for the first time.  After an hour of loading in small, 1” diameter stick,s it had created a nice layer of coals that was very, very hot – over 1000 F.

The lid came off the combo cooker.

The combo cooker read 750 F.  We let the oven cool down over the next hour before firing up a starter ½ tower of charcoal briquets just in case they were needed for the top cover of the oven once the top of the combo cooker came off to help brown the top.

 

The coals go on top to brown the bread.

Once the tower was fired up we unmolded the bread onto parchment on a peel and slashed it tic–tack-toe style.  We used the parchment as a sling to get the dough into the cooker, covered it with the lid, placed the CI griddle in top to close off the oven and put the cast Iron griddle across the front to close it off.  The bottom of the combo cooker read 355 F when the dough was loaded but the fire below was much hotter.

We let the oven go for 18 minutes before taking off the CI lid and front covers and the top of the combo cooker.  We replaced the CI front and top lids and placed a layer of charcoal briquets on the top lid to help brown the top.  The bread had really blistered, sprang and bloomed very well under the CC lid and steam.

We baked the bread for 12 more minutes without steam before uncovering the CI lid and front of the oven and removing the bread to the cooling rack.  It looked beautiful. – the best looking bread we have ever baked and it read 208 F on the inside – just perfect.  But, and there are always buts with most things – especially new ones.  The bottom was overbaked and black – so the bread wasn’t the best looking one we have ever made after all.

It has been a while since I smelled like a campfire and 50 years since had had tried to bake outside on a WFO and the first time we have tried to bake bread this way.  Lucy slept the whole time on the grass in the back yard – one of her favorite places to sleep in the winter.

 

I turned it upside down to finish cooling and it mooshed the top down a bit.

Next time we will use a baking stone for the bottom and let the fire cool some more before loading the bread.   We might bake 1 more loaf before tearing the oven down and putting the bricks back on the rocket stove.  We will have to wait in the crumb shots.

The crumb came out very open soft and moist.  If you cut off the bottom 1/4 inch you are left with one of the beat breads ever baked in a temporary WFO in Lucy's back yard. . Without the bottom this is still on emof the best breads we have ever baked which is saying a lot after 500 different breads baked ever the last 4 years:-)  Bread out of WFO just tste that much better and why traditonal artisan bread has to be baked in one,

Let's have a salad with that bread.  The Rocket Stove all put back together.  Now we can build a new oven for the next WFO bake!

Comments

nmygarden's picture
nmygarden

Wow, check out those blisters! Your Temporary WFO worked out great! Okay, aside from a burned bottom, it did great! And a little wood smoke flavor will provide a happy reminder of your experi(ment)ence.

Cathy 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

bread will ugly with those blisters:-)  When I took the lid off the oven and saw how beautiful the bread was I yelled at Lucy to come take a look at it, before I took it out, of the oven saying 'this is the best bread ever!'  But she knew the bottom was toast.  She just laid there in grass and refused to move!  What a lazy apprentice I have.....I'm hoping it doesn't have any smoky flavor since the coals weren't smoking at all.   But I bet it will taste like a WFO which is the best!  Just like home milled sprouted grains. This bread should have it all  I'm going to slice some for dinner meat loaf sandwiches tonight.  

Glad you liked the post and happy baking Cathy.

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Just cut off the burnt bottom and enjoy! That is one beautiful loaf. I am so impressed at your creativity!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

fast!.  The rest of the loaf smells amzing like only a WFO bread can.  I'm glad you liked this post.  Lucy and I had a grand time nearly all week messing with the bread, the oven and the post.   Now we get to eat it!

Happy baking Danni

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Here at the Sandman residence we are partial to all things black, with 2 black dogs 1 black and white cat and one white and black cat :).

I certainly appreciate your ingenuity with building this temporary brick-oven and the crust looks as good as it gets in my book.  I guess using the oven stone would have helped for sure.  I'm going to try and use my Kettle Weber grill and invert a pan over the bread and cook on indirect heat.  Maybe not as rustic as you and Cedar Mountain who went to extraordinary means to be authentic.  All depends on the weather as we are supposed to get snow and rain this weekend so it may not happen.

Please give Queen Lucy or Empress Lucy a nice belly rub from me!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

was trying ot bake this bread.  Can't wait to see your no oven challenge interpretation.  We expect a lot, an awful lot,  since your baking prowess precedes you with that last bake of yours - just awesome it was but we don't care about the past too much around here:-).  Glad you liked the post - we almost made the perfect bread.....just like always.

Happy baking Ian and Lucy says to take care of the black ones after that bottom of her's today!

hreik's picture
hreik

looks like my bottom is blacker than yours.  lol.  Had to cut mine off mid-bake.

Well done.

hester

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

the black bottom on since t was such a small portion of the bake,  We ate the sandwiches that way but I had a slice with the black cut off (for professional tastin by Lucy) and it was better - one of the best breads ever!  Couldn't be happier.  I'll be posting the crumb shots right away.  

Happy baking hester.

 

Ru007's picture
Ru007

This is incredible, great job Dab. 

Your bread looks beautiful, inside and out. Look at those blisters ... and that crumb. I'm sure it was very tasty. You go great oven spring too.

Never mind the burnt bottom, burnt bread is really just toast anyway! LOL!! 

I'm glad you'll be making another loaf before tearing the oven down, can't wait to see how that turns out. Hopefully no burnt bottom. 

I see Lucy was really taking it easy while you were busy, she's a bit of princess isn't she :)

Happy baking!

 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

but my wife says it has to come down before her sister and my BIL get here for Hanukkah and Christmas.  I'm not sure I can get another one baked by then

I've never gotten a crust color like this one before and the taste of the crust and crumb is incredible. The 36 hour retard had something to do with the crumb I'm sure but that crust is all WFO.  It doesn't taste smokey but it doensl't taste like oven bread at all either.  It is just another notch better.  I could eat this bread every day no worries.

Glad you liked it Ru and happy baking

PalwithnoovenP's picture
PalwithnoovenP

This is way out of your comfort zone yet it still has your signature look! You really succeeded in this project especially the temporary WFO!

Love the blistered boldly baked crust and the super open crumb. I think it's your most open crumb I've seen in a long time. Despite the burnt bottom, this bread will easily beat other breads by a mile. It's the WFO taste that can't be beaten.

I hope you and Lucy had fun and I wish much much more that your wife didn't scold you for building this contraption and slaving over the baking process (despite having an oven) just for a challenge of someone you just met on the internet! :)

Maraming salamat! (Thank you very much!) Happy baking uncle!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

yesterday and I caught heck for baking this bread and smoking up the whole house since I'm not allowed to bake bread when she is home.  I thought that only applied to inside baking but now I know better:-).  I usually don't go for an open crumb but this one just exploded in that WFO.  It is the best looking bread we have made in a long time, best  color on the outside and the best tasting white bread ever.

Thanks for coming up with the challenge - it is something I have been wanting to do for a long time.  I felt like a little kid again!

Glad you liked it and happy WF baking Job.

alfanso's picture
alfanso

or not, this is one fantastic looking bake!  Especially without an oven.  palwithnooven really inspired a host of Loafians to come to the call.  Next time, get a print-out of the wife's schedule in advance.  Great bake.  alan

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

she needs to tell me when she is taking off work so I can plan my retirement properly:-)  This bread did turn out great and I can see why folks love their WFO's when even this one made a fine loaf of bread.  Pizza would be killer in it too.  Don't know what to bake this week but what ever it is it won't be as fun or turn out as good.

G;lad u liked the post and happy baking Alan!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Double post!